Spam Empanadas: Because Real Meat is for People With Ambitions

If you judge me for this post, you’re doing it wrong.

I’m a poor college student. Spam is legitimate. Get over your fear. Canned meat looks really REALLY uninviting (trust me, I’d rather be eating a prime cut of beef than cracking open a can of unidentified meat product), but it’s adventurous.

Stop judging it. It has feelings too.

This was the beginning of a glorious idea that all started when I was shopping for ranch dressing for a sorority event. I was going to get ground beef, but that gets expensive sometimes. Especially because I’m picky and like my 80/20.

Enter mysterious meat product, center stage/third row on the rack in asile 3. It was as if the food gods were giving me a sign. Go for it.

I mean, I had eradicated my roommate’s fear of Spam by making her Spam quesadillas for dinner at the beginning of our meager apartment life. And, surprise, SHE ENJOYED THEM.

So, lets continue with the cooking.

Cube that block of meat. Don’t be shy.

Now chop up some peppers and onion. As you can see, I chose a bright myriad of bell peppers. For visual as well as taste purposes. I like colors. Cooking can be artistic, fools.

Now toss it all in a pan with some olive oil and stir every so often. You want to get that brownish, crackling characteristic to your spam. It’ll get slightly crunchy in those spots. It’s a nice surprise.

Now, prior to doing all of these wonderful things, you should have prepared your empanada dough and chilled it for 30min. (I’m thinking about providing the recipes on a separate page…no, I will be providing these recipes on a separate page). Roll it out on a floured surface, thinly, but not TOO thinly. And cut it into good sized discs. I used a cereal bowl. Again, college solutions.

Once you have a well cooked spam party in your pan, go ahead and pack those empanada dough rounds and close with a wet fork. Slather on an egg wash if you wanna get fancy (I always do, makes me feel like I’m on the food network or something).

THEY LOOK SO GOOD. And they were fantastic.

Go make yourself some. Just do it. Trust me.

Spam is a friend.

But like…that friend that you only see in class and so you have this strange relationship where you socialize during that one time and never any other time. If you see each other in The Quad you don’t even say hello. But when you’re in that class you both share that mutual feeling of friendship. It’s nice. Good comparison. Education, it’s a thing. And it works. Right?

Oh hey there!
Welcome to my favorite things of all things: one of my too many blogs.
I'm a sophomore in college with too little money, too big of an appetite for fantastic food, and too much envy for the lifestyle of Anthony Bourdain when it comes to travel and culture. If you can identify with that, you might just like popping in on this page every once in awhile. I'll be ranting and raving about food and culture, all of which I will do while celebrating the good and lamenting the hard parts of college life. So eat up, folks! Life is too short to be living off of Cap'n Crunch and spoiled milk (although I do adore a solid bowl of classic Cap'n Crunch...)